Aztec 3D Depthmap & 3D

[David Harvey]

Hi All,
Wow! It's been a long time since I've gotten around to post...been lurking daily though....;o)

When time permits (not often anymore) I try to do a little play time in the shop. I noticed the thread about the Aztec calander that has come up again...yes, there is always a lot of interest in this one because of the fantastic detail in it. I for one, keep revisiting it too.
I thought that I would try to create a depthmap of the calander and see how it worked as a 3D engraved file. To my surprise, it came out extremely well!

So that everyone else that wants some of their own playtime with it, I've included the Aztec depthmap so you can have some of your own fun. To my amazement, I ran the laser with '0%' power setting and a speed of 10%....this gave me a depth of a little over 1/8" in one pass. I think I could have increased the speed up to about 30% which would have produced more of the 3D slopes in the file, but at a lesser depth.
Anyway...if anyone wants to give it a try here it is.

I also did a depthmap of a farm scene and tried running it in 3D too. It turned out pretty good, but this one took 3 passes. This was also the one where I figured out to set the power to '0'...when I did, a lot of the detail in the image began to appear, where before it was bland.

Thought I would share....

[Dean Fowell]

I like thats good i might play this afternoon

[David Fairfield]

Never really did figure out what changing the power setting does in 3d mode on the Epilog.

In my tests, the power setting was disabled, power was controlled by the percent of black in the greyscale. Any changes I made in the power setting made no difference on the output. I may not have gone down to 0% though!

Can anyone elaborate?

Thanks!
Dave

[Mike Christen]

Very nice work David. Do you have a larger resolution depthmap your could share, I have the calander but its just the lines with no fills. just took a look at it and it would take a very long time to create fills.

Not sure I understand the zero power either??

[David Harvey]

Very nice work David. Do you have a larger resolution depthmap your could share, I have the calander but its just the lines with no fills. just took a look at it and it would take a very long time to create fills.

Not sure I understand the zero power either??

The depthmap is too large to put on the creek, so anyone that would like the file just send me a PM with your email and I would be happy to send it to you.

[Mike Christen]

Sent ya a PM David, thanks

[Bill Cunningham]

The depthmap is too large to put on the creek, so anyone that would like the file just send me a PM with your email and I would be happy to send it to you.

You could always post it in a .zip file

[Chuck Stone]

David sent me this file some time ago, just got around to finishing it.

I lasered it in Corian to make a master, then made a mold and did a
cold cast bronze plate.
No camera, had to do this on a flatbed scanner.. so it doesn't really
show much.

But this sucker is heavy! The plate weighs about 1.5 lbs and took a lot
of bronze..aztec12s.jpg


Thanks David!

[Dee Gallo]

Wow Chuck, that is stunning!

But what are you going to do next year when this calender runs out? hehehe

dee

[Robert Walters]

Wow Chuck, that is stunning!

But what are you going to do next year when this calender runs out? hehehe

dee

Dee,

That's when the aliens come back and we all get new and improved futuristic type lasers!
Then we get to start Life (as we know it) all over again, just like pushing the RESET button =)

Happy New Year!

[Chuck Stone]

Wow Chuck, that is stunning!

But what are you going to do next year when this calender runs out? hehehe

dee

i'll save money on my Xmas shopping?

[David Harvey]

Chuck, Excellent work!

When you get the time it would be interesting for you to describe your molding process. I'm sure that many here would love to see how you accomplished that.

Thanks for the posting...

[Chuck Stone]

Not all that much to it, really..
I used Corian for the master. Lasered that using 3D settings in the driver.
I set up different powers for various levels of gray, sent the file as grayscale.
Lasered in a deep border around the circle (for a mold wall) then I cut around
the whole thing on the bandsaw. Sanded the edges smooth and then used
Scotch tape as a wall, (much like using a cupcake wrapper to hold everything
in) poured the silicone and let it cure. That's the mold.
Mixed up the resin, poured, cured and buffed it out with steel wool. I use an
acrylic spray when it was done because the metal in the resin tends to oxidize
quickly if you don't. You can buff to a high shine and it will dull off in a few hours.
(you can buff it back up again, though)

I'd post pics, but no camera at the moment.. I suppose I could scan the
mold and the master, but you'd see the same thing just in different colors.